My Family

A cute-in-parts but ultimately unappealing comedy - the kind you always seem to see on the inflight entertainment system on Qantas - about the eccentric family of a suburban dentist.

Zoe Wanamaker is the marquee name (she's the daughter of the late Sam Wanamaker, the famous McCarthy -era blacklistee and great patron of British theatre), but the standout in the cast is actually Kris Marshall , who plays Nick, the doe-eyed idiot son.

Tonight, the other son, Michael (Gabriel Thomson ), fails to stop his parents from finding out about his school's fundraiser. Susan (Wanamaker) drags husband Ben (Robert Lindsay ) along, intending to make sure it is a roaring success.

No sign of former EastEnders star Daniela Denby-Ashe (she played the virginal Sarah Hills in that soap) as the daughter who was packed off to university last week. She does show up, however, in a handful of episodes in this (third) series before signing off for good.

It might have passed muster if the pedigree of British comedy (from witless charmers such as Only Fools and Horses to the slick and silly Absolutely Fabulous) was not so high. As it is, it might make you smile but belly laughs are disappointingly few and far between.